This book provides unique insights into the parliamentary experiences of MPs by using questionnaires completed by all those who had been elected to the House of Commons from 1885-1918.

• Analyses and summarises the questionnaire created by Josiah Wedgwood MP, the main initiator of the History of Parliament project
• Includes the surprisingly truthful and informative answers about their subjects’ political and parliamentary careers
• Also contains Wedgwood’s often sharply observed biographies (reproduced in an appendix), and provides fascinating insights into a crucial period for the House of Commons

Priscilla Baines was the Librarian of the House of Commons from 2000 to 2004. She has contributed to various publications of the Study of Parliament Group including The New Select Committees: a study of the 1979 reforms (1985 and 2nd edition 1988); Parliamentary Accountability: a study of Parliament and Executive Agencies (1995); Westminster and Europe: the impact of the European Union on the Westminster Parliament (1995); and Britain in the European Union: Law, Policy and Parliament (2004).